MassHousing and nonprofit housing organization Just A Start have closed on a new financing package for 24 Webster Ave. in Somerville’s Union Square, advancing a fully affordable multifamily development on a long-vacant commercial site. The project will deliver 43 deeply affordable rental apartments in a new six-story building, replacing a vacant commercial building with income-restricted housing.
The financing structure includes a $17.8 million loan from MassHousing through the agency’s Conduit Loan Program, supplemented by $22.8 million in construction financing from TD Bank. Together, these loans form the core of the project’s debt capital and are intended to support ground-up construction of the Passive House-standard building and the creation of the new residential community.
Just A Start plans to demolish the existing vacant commercial structure and construct the new apartment building to meet Passive House standards, emphasizing energy efficiency and long-term operating savings for an income-restricted resident base. The project concentrates new affordable housing in Union Square, which is described as one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the Commonwealth, underscoring the affordability gap the development aims to address.
In addition to the MassHousing and TD Bank loans, the capital stack includes significant public and tax-credit support. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) allocated federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits that are expected to generate $21.2 million in financing for the project. EOHLC is also providing $3.2 million in direct support, alongside other unspecified state and local sources.
MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay characterized the initiative as a transformative effort, highlighting the delivery of 43 new, energy-efficient, deeply affordable rental homes through the redevelopment of an underutilized commercial property. The combination of conduit lending, bank construction financing, tax-credit equity, and state subsidies reflects a multi-layered approach frequently required to capitalize deeply affordable multifamily projects in high-cost neighborhoods.
Once completed, the development at 24 Webster Ave. will add much-needed affordable housing stock to Somerville while converting a vacant commercial site into residential use. The project’s emphasis on Passive House design and its location within a high-cost neighborhood position it as a case study in leveraging public, quasi-public, and private capital to advance energy-efficient, income-restricted housing.
